General Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and March to the Sea
This paper examines the Civil War career of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, focusing on his capture of Atlanta in September 1864 and his subsequent March to the Sea. It traces Sherman's early life, his troubled start in the military, and his rise to command the Union's western armies. The paper details the strategic importance of Atlanta, the military campaigns against Confederate Generals Johnston and Hood, Sherman's controversial evacuation of civilians, and the deliberate destruction carried out during his 300-mile march to Savannah. It concludes by assessing how these campaigns deprived the Confederacy of critical supplies and contributed decisively to the Union's victory in April 1865.
- Introduction: Sherman and the Civil War: Overview of Sherman's notorious reputation and significance
- Early Life and Military Career: Sherman's upbringing, West Point, and early commands
- The Battle for Atlanta: Military campaign to capture the Confederate city
- Evacuating Atlanta and Planning the March: Civilian removal and strategic planning for the march
- The March to the Sea: Destruction across Georgia to Savannah
- Aftermath and Legacy: Sherman's postwar career and death
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What makes this paper effective
- Uses primary sources effectively, including Sherman's own Memoirs and a contemporary letter describing the destruction of Atlanta, grounding claims in firsthand evidence.
- Weaves biographical context into the military narrative, showing how Sherman's earlier struggles—being labeled "crazy" and demoted—shaped his later determination and leadership.
- Balances military strategy with human consequences, noting the displacement of Atlanta's civilians and the devastation visited on Georgia's farms and infrastructure.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of direct quotation to support historical argument. Rather than paraphrasing Sherman's words, the writer quotes from his Memoirs and letters to establish his strategic thinking in his own voice, lending authority to claims about his intentions and motivations.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with biographical background before moving chronologically through Sherman's Civil War campaigns. It covers the siege of Atlanta, the civilian evacuation, and the March to the Sea in sequence, then closes with a brief account of Sherman's postwar career. This linear structure mirrors the cause-and-effect logic of the argument: each campaign builds toward the eventual Confederate surrender at Appomattox.
Introduction: Sherman and the Civil War
"You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it… War is hell" — William T. Sherman.
William Tecumseh Sherman is one of the most well-known and notorious generals of the Union Army in the Civil War. The people of Georgia still speak his name with contempt, if they speak it at all, due to his infamous burning of Atlanta and his March to the Sea, which eventually helped bring the South to its knees and win the war for the North. During his military career he was hailed as a savior, called "crazy," and demoted; yet he became one of the best-known and most successful generals of the Civil War.
Early Life and Military Career
Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on February 8, 1820. His father died when Sherman was nine, and he went to live with a family friend, Senator Thomas Ewing. He later married one of the Senator's daughters. Sherman attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1840. His time at West Point was less than stellar — he was often sloppily dressed and paid little attention to keeping his room orderly. Nevertheless, he managed to graduate sixth in his class and seemed destined for a brilliant military career (Wood 211).
Sherman remained in the army until 1853, then took a position as a banker in San Francisco. When that business failed, he accepted the post of Superintendent of a military academy in Louisiana — the institution that is now Louisiana State University.
When the Civil War broke out and Louisiana seceded from the Union, Sherman decided to leave the South and fight for the Union. He resigned his position at the military academy, traveled to Missouri, and rejoined the army in 1861. He began as a Colonel and rose to the rank of Brigadier General, but was relieved of his command after demanding 200,000 troops to subdue the South. Newspapers of the time branded him "crazy" for requiring so many men, and the army and civilian public believed them. Sherman was reassigned to Missouri and fell into severe depression over the repeated attacks on his sanity. His foster father wrote in his defense: "I have seen newspaper squibs charging him with being 'crazy,' etc. This is the grossest injustice. I do not, however, consider such attacks worthy of notice" (Bengston). Sherman eventually returned to active Union service and rose to command the armies fighting in the West, leading the forces that ultimately took Atlanta.
The Battle for Atlanta
On September 1, 1864, Sherman captured Atlanta — but not without a fight. He and his army had been encamped only nine miles from the city in early July, after battling Confederate General Joseph Johnston. Johnston's troops defeated Sherman at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, 1864, but Sherman had access to far greater supplies, and Johnston was eventually forced to withdraw his forces toward Atlanta. Notably, Johnston and Sherman held a mutual respect for each other that endured long after the war — Johnston served as a pallbearer at Sherman's funeral. In July, General John B. Hood replaced Johnston, and it was Hood whom Sherman had to fight for control of Atlanta.
Sherman had always understood that capturing Atlanta was essential to winning the war. As he later wrote in his memoirs: "Yet Atlanta was known as the 'Gate-City of the South,' was full of foundries, arsenals, and machine-shops, and I knew that its capture would be the death-knell of the Southern Confederacy" (Memoirs 99). By the end of August, Sherman's troops were shelling Atlanta, and soldiers could see the fires from their encampments. By the evening of September 1, Hood's forces had been pushed back and the Confederate Army abandoned the city. As Hood and his men retreated, they ordered the railroad yards burned to prevent Sherman from using them for resupply, and they tore up approximately 40 miles of track leading into the city.
Atlanta's fall was so significant that Sherman received a formal commendation of "national thanks" from President Lincoln himself. Coming just weeks before the November elections, the victory strengthened Lincoln's standing with voters and helped secure his reelection (Memoirs 109–110).
References
Bengston, Wayne C. "William Tecumseh Sherman." About North Georgia. 2002.
Howard, W. P. "Dec. 1864 Account of Destruction of Atlanta." Carl Vinson Institute of Government. 15 Oct. 1999.
Sherman, William T. Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1876.
"To the Mayor and Councilmen of Atlanta." Nebulae.net. 2002.
Wood, W. J. Civil War Generalship: The Art of Command. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1997.
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